The morning sun streaked through the bedroom window and brushed a warm tingling finger of brightness along Alex's cheek. A low husky moan in his ear let him know that his other half was also being disturbed by the sunbeam. Squeezing his eyes just a tad tighter, Alex squirmed further down in the covers and tightened his arms around Xander, pulling his twin in closer to his bare chest. His brother happily wiggled against him and soon a dark haired head was tucked firmly under his chin and a long leg was tucked in between his knees. He grinned to himself.

"Mornin' my heart."

The two arms wrapped around his chest squeezed tighter for a moment and soft warm lips pressed up against his throat in a kiss.

"Mmmm... love."

Feeling warm and safe and loved was not something that Alex was familiar with, and as such, it was unusual for Xander as well. They had known each of those things, but rarely all at once. Yet here they were, warm in bed in their new apartment and safe from all evil, including their parents. What's more, they both loved the other and they could easily share and admit to that love. It was a sensation that Alex wanted to experience again and again and it was one that he would do anything to protect.

As the sleepy hazy mugginess drifted out of his head to be replaced with clearer and more concrete awareness, he raised his one hand to slowly stroke the soft warm skin of his other half's back. He was rewarded by Xander cuddling down even closer against him. He turned his face towards his twin and pressed a gentle kiss into the mass of midnight curls at the top of his head.

"We've got to get up and get moving, my soul."

"No. Sleep. Cuddles are of the good. Don't wanna move."

Alex felt his grin stretch into a wide smile at the sleepy mumbles coming from the vicinity of his neck.

"Well... we *do* have a busy day planned. I have to get you a key made and Buffy, Riley and Anya are supposed to meet us at the Basement to help us pack up our stuff. Riley said he'd bring his car to use. We also need food. You said you'd get it, but maybe you could get Anya to help, because you are also going to have to get stuff to cook the food in as well. We need pots and pans and... other stuff. Whatever, I'll leave it up to you two."

Xander lifted his head from it's comfy resting spot and blinked at him with big brown eyes. Alex felt his heart skip a beat and his insides melted a tiny bit from the tender feelings his twin's sleepy expression created in him.

"Kay... Um. Now?"

Alex chuckled.

"Well. *First* I'd say we should shower. We're a bit sticky and I'm sure more than a little fragrant. We had a... fun night together. After we're clean, I'll go get you a key and you meet the gang at the Basement. Sound good?"

Xander gave him a soft smile and nodded his head. Then, he dropped said head back onto Alex's shoulder and he cuddled down in order to drift back to sleep. Alex grinned at this display of non-morning persona and a sly look came into his dark eyes. Moving slowly, so as not to give his plan away, Alex let the hand that was still stroking his other half's back drift down to his naked buttocks and then he gave Xander a quick sharp pinch.

"Yowl!"

Xander's head shot back up in surprise and then melted into a heartbreakingly appealing pout.

"Hey! That wasn't playing fair..."

Alex leaned up and gave a nibbling kiss to that delectable full lower lip. Xander moaned softly and the kiss deepened into a soft wet possessive expression of love and desire. Alex broke off the kiss with a small gasp for air when he felt his cock begin to take too much of an interest in things.

"Come on. *All's* fair in love and war."

Xander grinned happily at him and quirked one eyebrow up at him.

"Oh, I see. That's okay then... but, if *I'm* the love part of that statement, then who is the *war* part?"

Immediately, a vision of pale skin and bleached white hair and bright blue eyes danced behind Alex's eyes and his cock twitched violently. He held his tongue however. Alex wasn't sure that his twin wouldn't go off into another funk like he had last night when they had run into Spike and he didn't want to risk it. So instead he just offered up a sexy and mysterious smile and shrugged as if he didn't have anyone in mind.

Surprisingly, or maybe not, Xander's lips twisted into an amused smirk and he whispered huskily as if speaking too loudly would conjure the person he was naming.

"William the Bloody... we declare war on thee... no holds barred, anything goes, war..."

A bolt of lust surged through Alex's body and he had the bizarre notion that he'd just been granted permission to carry out the depraved idea's that had been forming in the back of his mind last night as he comforted and then made love to his twin. His dark eyes sparkling with the tiniest hint of darkness, Alex returned his other half's smirk.

"Come on beautiful. Let's go jump in the shower and get clean."

Xander's smirk deepened and he threw the covers off of them. He then crawled down the length of Alex's body leaving a trail of nips and kisses. When he got to Alex's semi-hard cock, he stuck out his tongue and ran it along the length, wetting it. Once Xander reached the tip, he gently took it into his mouth and gave a soft teasing suck. Alex gasped and his hips gave an involuntary thrust upwards into the delectable heat and wetness. Just as suddenly as his twin took him into his mouth, he let his, now hard and throbbing, erection go with a wet sounding pop.

Alex groaned at the loss and Xander chuckled. He opened his eyes to glare at his twin and was faced with a sexy little grin of triumph. Then, Xander stood up and reached out to grasp Alex's cock and he gave a gentle little tug.

"Come on sexy. Let's go take that shower... *together*."

Alex's glare melted into what he was sure was a silly smile, but he couldn't help it. He carefully slid off the bed and up onto his feet. His twin didn't let go of his hard cock, he merely shifted his hold on it and then Xander turned and led the way to the bathroom. Alex followed happily. He took a darkly ironic delight in being led around the apartment by his throbbing cock. It was sort of like a living metaphor for his love life... but with it being *Xander* who was doing the leading it made the whole idea a thousand times more appealing.

Once in the bathroom, Xander let go so that he could turn on the water and adjust it to the temperature that they both preferred. Since they were already naked, it was just a matter of seconds until they were standing in each other's arms under a deluge of hot steamy water.

Alex reached up with one hand and snagged the vanilla scented shampoo off of the rack and flipped open the top. He poured out a dollop onto his own hand and then he leaned around and poured a bit out onto Xander's as well. Flipping the cap closed, he slid it back into it's spot on the rack.

Turning back to face his twin, Alex rubbed his hands together to work up a lather with the shampoo. Then stepping in close, he reached out and ran his soapy fingers through his other half's dark wet hair. He rubbed his fingers in tiny little circles, gently massaging his beloved's scalp and working the thick creamy bubbles through those soft thick curls of midnight silk. Xander's body relaxed visibly and with a little whimper of unadulterated pleasure he arched into the touch like a big happy cat.

Alex grinned at his brother's response to having his hair washed for him. Then he felt long strong fingers weave through his own wet hair and tiny tingles of sensual pleasure swept over his scalp and down his spine directly to his groin. A throaty groan of happiness escaped his lips and he had to close his eyes against the pleasure that swept over him as those loving fingers worked themselves through his hair.

He swept his fingers along Xander's scalp and then trailed them down the back of his neck, rubbing and teasing the warm wet skin. Not being able to resist the siren's song of intimacy and pleasure, he pulled his twin in closer and their wet chests brushed together and their twin hardnesses slid along each other. A shiver of intense sensation raced across his tingling nerve endings and he heard his brother's gasp over the sound of the shower. Not one to miss an opportunity, Alex took advantage of Xander's open mouth to capture those lush lips in a deep and passionate kiss. Xander melted against him and their warm wet skin slid along each other's bodies, sending twin waves of sexual energy crashing over them both.

Blindly, with need and desire urging him on, Alex reached out and fumbled with the plastic bottles sitting on the rack hanging from the shower-head. Searching amongst them with his questing hand, he finally identified the tall slim flatish container of the moisturizing body wash. He grabbed it and flipped open the top one-handed. Quickly, he poured a large amount out onto his hand and then he dumped some more into the hand that Xander extended. His desire building out of control, Alex flipped the top shut and then just dropped it to the tile floor with a loud thump.

Ignoring the discarded plastic bottle, Alex quickly rubbed his hands together to slick them both up. Then, he began to run his soapy hands all over Xander's soft pale skin. Wet muscular flesh slid past under his fingers as he delighted to the feeling of warm sudsy hands trailing along his back and across his hips.

Leaning back into those sinfully decadent hands, Alex took the opportunity to spread the white bubbly soap along Xander's chest and stomach. His fingers traced wet glistening trails along his lover's collarbones and then down to his thick pectorals. When he twisted his other half's nipples into hard straining points of arousal he was rewarded with a gasp, a shiver and two hands clutching at his ass. A sexy smile of happiness stealing over his face, he dragged the flat of his lathery hands down over Xander's stomach and he traced the slight ridges in the muscles there.

Then, not being able to resist any longer, he allowed his questing fingers to slid down even lower. He gently caressed the stiff flesh of his twin's erection, his soapy fingers tracing along the line that delineated between the shaft and the swollen crown. Xander gasped and shivered. Just as Alex reached out with one hand to cup Xander's heavy balls into his wet hand, he felt gentle fingers rub along his own erection.

With a husky moan of pleasure, Alex thrust into the hot wet fist that gripped him. Sizzling pleasure raced from his cock into his groin and then up his spine only to explode into bright spots dancing before his quickly shut eyes. His balls tingled with sexual tension and need even as his heart swelled with tender love and desire. For just a second, he feared that this wet steamy adventure would be over before he wanted it to end. But he gritted his teeth and forcibly pushed himself back away from the edge of completion.

With a twist of his wrists, he pushed Xander's hands away from his cock even as his own hands trailed around his twin's hips to grip the firm globes of his ass. With a slight tug, he pulled his brother's body in tight against his own. Their slick and soapy bodies crashed together in a shock of pleasure.

Nipple to nipple, belly-button to belly-button, erection to erection, lips to lips they stood under the wash of hot water that streamed over them. His lips brushing against Xander's, Alex whispered the words in his heart.

"I love you Xan... You and only you. Forever."

Then he captured his other half's mouth in a deep wet possessive kiss that spoke of endless passion and undying devotion. Xander opened up to him and surrendered to his dominance and desire with a shudder of pleasure. Alex grinded his throbbing hardness up against the twin hardness of Xander. Both of them moaned at the sensation that swept up and over them at the movement. Their slick skin reduced the friction even as their body hair left sparkling trails of electric tingles.

Slowly, gently, Alex pulled apart the cheeks of Xander's ass. To his delight, he found that his twin was mimicking and mirroring every action he took. Breaking the kiss with a gasp, Alex dropped his head to suckle along the side of his lover's neck.

"Want you... need you..."

And with that, he carefully dragged the tip of one finger into the crevasse of Xander's cheeks. When he felt one of Xander's fingers begin to explore that, until now, untouched area on his own body he shuddered at the sparks of sexual pleasure that erupted in him. Wary of any tenderness that his beloved might be feeling from their love making the night before, Alex gently inserted the tip of his finger inside of Xander's tight opening up to the first knuckle.

His twin shivered and gasped before pushing back against the invader. This caused Alex's finger to sink even deeper and it dragged his erection delightfully along Alex's own. He could feel Xander's own finger trace the edge of his own opening in small teasing circles and the desire and need built up in him to dangerous levels. He pushed his own ass back towards that tempting finger.

"Xan... *please*!"

His twin rubbed a stubbled cheek along his own and a husky sexy voice in his ear sent shivers along his spine.

"I *love* how well you beg my beautiful Alex."

And then that finger plunged deep inside of his body and sparks of pleasure blossomed behind his eyes and his breath caught in his throat. He felt full and impaled and conquered and possessed and... *cherished*. He fell head over heels in love with Xander all over again.

Biting down gently on the flesh of Xander's shoulder to keep from crying out at the pleasurable sensations racking his body, he pushed his finger inside of his brother even deeper and then carefully crooked it slightly until he found the right...

"Ahhh! Alex! *yes* *there*!"

...spot to make his lover scream. Delighted with his brother's reaction, Alex rubbed at the magic place again, teasingly circling it first once or twice. Then, he ran his finger across it again and again. Xander gasped and clutched him tighter even as a shudder raced down his body. Then, to Alex's eternal joy and delight, Xander returned the favor of rubbing at that place inside of his *own* body and an intense wave of overwhelming pleasure washed over him, nearly drowning him in the sensation. It was only by clamping his blunt white teeth on his own bottom lip hard enough to draw blood that he didn't spill his seed right then and there.

Once again, working in tandem, it didn't take them very long to develop a mutually pleasing rhythm of grinding their twin erections along one another and then pushing back onto the fingers plunging into their bodies. Deep wet kisses were given and accepted as pleasure sizzled along electrified nerve endings. Steam swirled around them and the noise of pounding water combined to make this seem surreal and it allowed them to forget about the outside world as they became the center of each other's universe. Time lost all meaning, there was only need and desire and joy and pleasure and love.

They rubbed and thrust and Alex was lost in Xander. Erection to swollen blood filled erection. Chest pressed against it's twin as nipples kissed and danced along the wet soapy plains of tingling skin. Muscles flexed and blood pounded through thrumming veins and Alex felt his heart racing behind his ribs and his balls grew heavy and tight as the pressure built up and then Xander shuddered deeply and bit down on his sore and swollen lip and it caused bright sparks to flash in his mind.

A cresting wave of pleasure swept over him and his entire body tensed and his muscles clamped down and he thrust against his lover one last time and then everything turned inside out and life and love and happiness *exploded* from him in trembling pulses of white cum and his whole being *throbbed* through his orgasm as twin cocks erupted between their chests.

Alex panted for breath and he gripped his slippery wet twin tightly as they leaned on each other trembling in the other's arms. Xander's head dropped down to rest on his shoulder and he could feel his other half's chest rise and fall as he gasped deeply. Finally, their shudders slowed and they both began to come back down from their sexual high. Alex felt the hot breath on his neck as Xander spoke.

"Love you too Alex."

*****
Part 7:

Alex juggled the cardboard breakfast tray in his hands until he had one free. As soon as he could, he brought up his suddenly empty hand to scratch at his chin and sighed in relief. He was beginning to wish that he hadn't been the one to volunteer to grow the mustache and goatee. It itched like a bitch.

This morning when they had climbed out of the shower, they had both jockeyed for space in front of the mirror and sink, until they had finally been forced to flip a coin to see who would use it first. Xander won. His twin had quickly brushed his teeth and then shaved his face.

When it got to be his turn, he had brushed his own teeth and then had shaved his cheeks and neck, however, unlike Xander, he'd left the stubble along his chin and above his upper lip. In a day or two he knew that he'd have a thick dark and completely respectable moustache and goatee, but until then it would be a major pain in the ass.

Itch satisfied, Alex readjusted his burden and smiled as he rounded the corner of the street that his parents lived on. He could see Riley's car from here and he watched as Buffy carried a box up from the stairs. With a smile of happiness and good cheer, Alex hurried his steps and soon caught the blonde girl's attention.

"Hey Buffster! How goes the moving project?"

His friend smiled and gestured to the quickly filling trunk of the car.

"It goes good actually. So... what took you so long to get here? Xander is down stairs with Riley and Anya already."

She rolled her beautiful eyes playfully.

"He's being pretty picky about what gets packed and what doesn't. I didn't realize that you guys weren't going to bring everything, but I guess it's easier to just leave the things you don't want instead of having to throw them away later, huh?"

Alex chuckled and then raised his box to show it to Buffy.

"Well... I'm not too sure what he has termed unneeded, but I trust him with that, so it's okay. As for why I'm running late, I stopped and had a key to the apartment made for Xan and then I bought coffee and a danish for everyone as a way of saying 'Thanks for lifting big heavy boxes all morning for no pay.' Why don't we go on in and you can help me hand out sugar and caffeine goodness."

Buffy grinned at him and made a big show of peering into the box where breakfast rested in Alex's hands.

"Did you get a cherry danish?"

Alex offered up a fake offended look.

"Of *course* I got a cherry danish! What kind of kook do you take me for?"

Buffy giggled and then linked her arm through one of his and together they walked to the steps leading down into the basement.

"I think you're the wonderful 'give the cherry danish to the blonde Buffy person type of kook' so don't worry, kay?"

Alex chuckled with happiness. Buffy never failed to make him smile.

"You got it Slayer-Lady. It would be my pleasure to defend your right to hog all the cherry danishes you want."

His friend laughed at him and slapped him lightly on the arm as they walked down the steps together. When they got to the bottom, Alex saw that they had made a pretty good dent in getting stuff in boxes and bags. Glancing around the room, he saw Anya sitting over next to the tool bench so he made his way over to her. Setting the box of breakfast down next to her, he leaned over and captured her lips in a gentle kiss.

"Hey sweetheart. You look absolutely lovely this fine morning."

She beamed up at him and he allowed his eyes to sweep over her lithe form as a hungry smile grew on his face.

"Oooo, no sling? Does that mean our sex can get more... um, aerobic again?"

She giggled and nodded her head.

"Yep! Doctor says that I'm all better, so that means we get to play and play hard. It was lots of work doing all that healing. Xander said that later on tonight I'm going to be rewarded for it with many orgasms."

Alex chuckled and ran one finger along her jaw, tilting her face up for another quick kiss.

"Well, I've found that Xander is one smart cookie, so I'll have to agree with him on that. You definitely deserve to have lots of lovely orgasms. I'd be more than happy to help him with that project too."

Anya graced him with a look that quite clearly shouted, 'Duh!' and the fore-mentioned twin coughed in embarrassment. When Alex turned his head it was to be faced with a furiously blushing and fidgeting Xander who was trying desperately not to notice the way that Riley and Buffy were studiously ignoring the conversation about the twin's sex life with Anya. Alex smirked.

"Um... So... ahhh... What's in the box? I mean, I thought this party was to *remove* stuff, not bring more in."

Alex raised his eyebrow at the tactless subject change, but went with it anyway. Gesturing for Xander to come on over, he began removing styrofoam cups of coffee and plastic wrapped danishes.

"Coffee and danish. I got 'em down at the Circle K. Buffy called dibs on the cherry and I got raspberry for Anya 'cause it's her favorite. I also got a cream-cheese one, a blueberry and a lemon one. You and Riley decide which one's you want and I'll take whatever's left."

Riley and Buffy descended on the three of them and the goodies laid out on the counter. Buffy grabbed a coffee and her cherry danish. Riley took a cup and the cream-cheese one with a smile and a 'thanks man' and Xander grabbed the blueberry one and tore into it with a smile.

"Hungry. We need to get food or I'll wither away to nothing. I'm a growing boy after all."

Everyone chuckled at Xander and they quickly munched through their snack break. Everyone was enjoying themselves, the food and the cheerful company. Just as empty wrappers and coffee cups began to get collected back into the box, a deep angry voice yelled down the stairs and shattered the happy mood and good feelings.

"Dammit Alexander! What the hell is going on down there? Why is all of your useless crap being piled up in that beat-up piece of shit car out front? You planning to skip out without paying the last of the rent boy?"

Xander flinched and went pale as he began to tremble. Buffy and Riley scowled up the stairs and then they both turned questioning looks at him. Alex sighed and lifted Anya's hand up to his lips for a quick kiss and then dropped it into her lap. He walked over and slung an arm around Xander, purposely leading him away from the stairs and over to the other side of the room.

"Look Xan... you get everyone organized and get this stuff out of here as fast as you guys can. I... I'll go upstairs and... deal with the old man."

Xander clutched at his shirt and shook his head, panic beginning to well up in his big round eyes. Alex gently untangled his twin's long fingers from his t-shirt and gave him a light shove towards Buffy.

"It's okay. Go. Get this place emptied out. I'll be fine, don't worry."

Alex shared a quick look with Buffy and he saw his friend give a slight nod of her head. She'd keep Xander out of the line of fire for him. He returned her nod briskly and then whirled around and stomped up the stairs to face down the father that had spent the last eighteen years in a drunken haze of abuse and neglect.

As he walked up the steps towards his nemesis, he noticed something unusual. Normally, he would feel icy fingers of fear walk across his scalp and down his spine. He would often be overcome with the urge to run and hide from the man who had caused such unspeakable amounts of pain during his life. But not this time. All he felt was a burning ball of rage in the pit of his guts and almost nauseating disgust at the... smelly horrible excuse for a man that had sent his beloved twin into a near panic.

*No one* would *ever* hurt his Xander again. Alex *refused* to sit back and allow that to happen to his other half, his heart, his *soul*. He'd eat a bullet first.

White hot rage swirling in his brain and an overwhelming *need* to punish and inflict pain throbbing in his veins, Alex pushed himself through the open doorway at the top of the steps and sneered at the drunken man in the unwashed bowling shirt. He stalked over to his father, his breath huffing through his flaring nostrils and *shoved* him backwards.

"You. Don't. Get. Any. More. Money. From. Me. Ever. Again. Do you got that old man?!"

In a move that he'd seen Buffy use hundred's of times, Alex brought his right fist up in a roundhouse punch that sent the larger man stumbling back to land in a crashing sprawl across the floor. Moving quickly before Frank Harris could pull his wits together or himself up off of the floor, Alex charged over to his father and kicked him in the ribcage using a move that man had often used on him.

"How does it feel, *dad*?"

His voice was an enraged snarl and his vision grew dim and hazy as a red wash of rage descended upon him brain. Stepping over his prone body, Alex sat down on his father's chest, effectively trapping the man's arms at his sides with his strong muscular thighs. With an evil smirk and his dark eyes glittering with revenge, Alex began to rain down blow after blow with his fists upon Frank's unprotected face.

"Hate you! You will *never* hurt me again! You *suck* as a father! I *hate* you! How does it feel to be the one curled up in pain on the floor? Do you like it? *I* never did, but that never stopped you from beating the shit out of me did it? Huh? What, nothing to say old man? Well, I'll say it for you! I. Hate. You."

And Alex kept repeating those words over and over again. I. Hate. You. Each word was punctuated with a fist slamming into the now unconscious man's face. Time lost meaning and Alex's whole world narrowed down to just his white hot anger and his father's bloody face. He wasn't sure how long it would have lasted if he hadn't been stopped. He figured that he would have eventually beat the man to death, but it didn't come to that.

Suddenly, out of nowhere it seemed, two thick strong and heavily muscled arms came around his body, pinning his own arms under them. He struggled and yelled as he tried to get free, but then the deep low and completely understanding voice speaking calmly in his ear began to seep in under the rage and awareness came back to him in a rush.

With a bizarre sense of horror, Alex looked down at the bleeding and pulpy face of his father and gasped in shock. He flinched backwards and pressed himself tightly into the warm comforting arms of Riley. One thought echoed around and around in his mind. What had he done and who had he become in doing so? With the dreadful fear that he was too much like his hated father filling his gut with iron cold pain, Alex turned his head and buried his face against Riley warm shoulder as he began to sob uncontrollably.

With a rough sort of gentleness, Riley pulled him up off of his father and turned him around in his arms and just held him tight as he worked through his tumulus emotions.

"Oh God! I hate him and he just always *hurt* me and he never *talked* he just always *hit* and *kicked* and I just... *couldn't* stop myself and now I'm *just* like him because I *liked* it and I *wanted* to hurt him and maybe I'm just loosing my mind and and... oh my God *please* tell me he's still alive and that I didn't *kill* him or something."

Riley's arms squeezed tighter around him and Alex took the comfort of being pressed against his friend's hard muscular chest. It was a safe feeling, as if Riley could protect him from all evil, even the darkness that was inside his own mind.

"Shhh... No, he's not dead Alex. I can see him breathing and just because you enjoyed beating him up does *not* make you like him. It's... normal actually. You took *years* of abuse and shit from him and it just had to be released *somehow* and now... it's *over*. You are leaving and you don't *ever* have to come back here."

Alex let those comforting words seep into him and he prayed that they were true. That he *wasn't* like his father and that neither he nor Xander would ever have to step foot in this house again. He took a deep shuddering breath and tried to let Riley's calm acceptance just wash over him and he let his anger and fear slide off of him.

With one last squeeze of thanks, Alex pushed himself away from the ex-commando and stepped back. He went to wipe his hand through his hair and saw that his knuckles were bloody and a small shiver worked it's way along his spine. Still shaking slightly, Alex walked over to the kitchen sink and turned on the water. He rinsed his hands off thoroughly and then splashed a double handful of the cool water over his face. He felt a warm hand rest comfortingly on his shoulder.

"Come on. Let's go. The car is packed and it's time to go."

Alex nodded his head, turned off the water. He walked over to the kitchen table and removed the keys to the house and the basement from his key ring. The two pieces of metal made tiny tinkling noises as he dropped the keys on the scuffed surface of the wooden table. He shoved the remaining keys back into his jean's pocket and then, ignoring the battered body of his father lying on the scuffed floor, he turned and walked out of his parents house for the last time.

*****
Part 8:

Alex hung up the last pair of chino's and shut the closet door. With a last glance around, he realized that the bedroom was finished. All of their clothes were put away in the closet or in the dresser. Their collection of comic books were neatly organized inside of milk-crates on the floor of the closet and their action-figures were safely in boxes up on the closet shelf. Anya had even hung up the braided wall anging on the wall over the bed.

With a few vague thoughts that he should ask Xander to bring some candles home from the Magic Shop tomorrow night so that they could make love to each other in the flickering golden light, Alex stepped out of the bedroom. Empty boxes and trash-bags littered the floor along the far wall and Anya was digging through one of the few left to be unpacked. She looked up at him when he entered the room and flashed him a happy smile. He grinned back at her and then noticed his twin chatting softly on the phone in the kitchen.

"Who's Xander talking to?"

Anya pulled out a double handful of video tapes and offered them up to him. Alex took them from her and she reached in and grabbed another double handful. Then, standing up and walking towards the small entertainment center, she shrugged slightly.

"Giles. I told Xander that it would be best if we had some sort of vehicle. For the shopping, I mean. Since this is the first time stocking up on groceries and you two have literally *nothing* as far as food and stuff goes, you'll need a lot more than you normally would. So, a car is needed to carry it all home."

Alex blinked. That made sense, but...

"Um, not to appear *too* stupid, but why do you need to get extra? What's so special about a 'first' shopping trip?"

Anya graced him with a quick look that inferred he was being very male and thus incredibly thick-witted again, but he ignored it. Instead, when she kneeled down to stack the videos on the shelf under his VCR, he knelt down next to her and began to shelve the ones he was holding as well.

"Well *duh* Alex. Think about it. You guys have *no* spice's, no condiments, no... um, *ingredients* of any kind. If you brought home take-out, you couldn't even *salt* it. You have *no* cooking utensils and very little in the way of silverware or dishes. No dish detergent, no cleaning supplies, no..."

"Okay, okay. I get it."

Alex didn't like cutting off people in mid-speech, but sometimes it was necessary with Anya. He loved her and the sex was great, but somehow, Anya-babble wasn't half as fun to listen to as Xander-babble. Her personality seemed... flat when compared to his twin's. It was funny how he'd never noticed that about her before today...

Suddenly, Xander hung up the phone and walked over to them. He was a mixture of excitement and nervousness. Energy just seemed to bubble up out of him as he bounced on the balls of his feet and then clapped his hands together once to get their attention. Both he and Anya looked up at him from their spot on the floor.

"Good news. The G-Man says that, while he isn't in the mood to follow us around the store, he *will* let us borrow his car... as long as we promise to take *good* care of it. Various threats followed this demand. So, all we have to do is go over Giles' to get his car and the keys and then it's off to the famed Food Barn, where we can bask in the florescent lights reflecting off of pre-packaged goodies. Um, oh... and *real* food for Alex."

Alex couldn't help smiling up at the unabashed joy and excitement shinning from his beloved twin's face. It helped to banish some of the shadows inside his mind and to dim the fear and anger that still fizzled and rolled through his stomach.

Anya popped up from her seat on the floor and began to chatter away about some two-for-one special she'd read about in the paper, her own excitement feeding off of Xander's. Alex watched them for a quick moment and then looked around the living room.

It was, by no means, clean. However, most of their things *had* been put away and once the empty boxes and bags were removed, it wouldn't seem so messy. A quick glance out the windows showed that the three of them had been working for several hours. The sun was going down, leaving the sky a deep turquoise and the clouds a burnt tangerine. It would be dark blue, hedging towards black, by the time the two of them reached Giles' condo.

Alex considered this fact for only the briefest of moments before coming to a decision. He *didn't* want his girlfriend wandering around in the dark, no matter *how* much she had grated his nerves today. And he *refused* to allow his other half to get any where *near* danger. So... he would walk them to Giles' place. And afterwards, maybe he'd head over to the Bronze for a bit. Try and dance off some of the dark energy and fight back the insipid depression that his confrontation with their father had produced. And if he ran into a vampire or two? No one would mind if he dusted a minion or a fledgling along the way, right?

Standing, Alex stalked over to the front closet and pulled out three jackets. He handed Anya her's and tossed the windbreaker to Xander. Then, he slid on the brown leather one. Bending down, he pulled out a stake and two crosses from their weapons bag.

"Okay. Each of you grab a cross and a bunch of boxes. We'll take the trash to the dumpster out back and then I'll walk you two over to Giles' place."

He turned back to be met with two startled and confused looks, but he didn't want to get into it right then and there. He'd talk to Xander about it later... when they were alone. Tossing them each one of the blessed crosses, Alex tucked the stake down into the back of the waistband of his jeans and then walked over to the nearest stack of boxes. Stuffing a double handful of empty trash-bags inside, he picked them all up.

"Well... come on guys. The sun is setting, even as we speak."

*****

Alex squatted down and rested his folded arms on the edge of the convertible's driver side door window frame and handed over a small billfold of cash to his grinning twin. He grinned back.

"Now... don't break me. Just get... um, whatever. Just make sure I'll be getting breakfast tomorrow before I head off to work."

Xander frowned in confusion.

"Work?"

Alex grinned even harder when he felt Giles's hand squeeze gently at his shoulder.

"Yes... um, well I asked Alex to help with the construction of a few additional bookcases and such. Next week is the Grande Opening, after all. I need to be ready. And yes, before you ask, I'm getting a shipment of inventory coming in on Tuesday and I expect *you* to be there to help me shelve it on the case you're... uh, er... brother is building."

Xander's confusion melted away into a happy smile.

"You got it, o fearless capitalist-merchant-Watcher-man, Sir."

Alex chuckled and Giles sighed in mild exasperation. Anya however, was itching to get going and she let everyone know it in her own blunt way.

"Look. This is all fuzzy and sweet, but... we have to go spend money now. So... just, lean over and give me a kiss. It's traditional to kiss your lover goodbye before any separation. No matter how short. I know these things."

Alex's grin turned rueful and then mischievous.

"So it is. How... remiss of me. Let me make that up to you right now."

Standing, he leaned over his twin and placed a deep wet kiss on Anya's mouth. Then, standing up and shifting back some, he leaned over again and this time, he kissed Xander. It was a sweet kiss at first, but then it melted into something so much more. Something primal and hot and needy. It was finally Anya's strident and complaining tones that broke the moment and made them both remember that they weren't alone.

"Hey! Not fair! Xander is getting more tongue than I did!"

With a faintly regretful grin and a naughty wink, Alex broke off the kiss and stood back up. Giles muttered faintly at his side.

"Oh my, I did *not* need to see that, nor did I need the commentary that came with it. On *that* unfortunate note, I'm going back inside now."

With as much dignity as he could muster, which being Giles was a whole lot, the older man turned and walked back up the steps into his condo and shut the door behind him. Xander sputtered and floundered in embarrassment for a moment, but Alex just chucked again.

"Not to worry, brother mine. The G-Man will go have a snoot full of brandy and then wipe it from his mind. You two just go off and have a good time spending my money. I'll meet you guys back at the apartment later."

Xander looked as if he was about to argue, but then Anya took it out of his hands and he backed down.

"Right. Bye Alex. Let's go Xander. You can start the car now."

Xander rolled his dark eyes with good humor at her, but he started the car without protest and then with one last wave, they pulled away, leaving Alex standing alone on the sidewalk.

With a last sigh, Alex headed off in the general direction of the Bronze, but suddenly, he didn't feel very much like going there. Yes, the pounding music and the dark smoky air would suit his mood nicely, but he didn't want to get trapped in a corner chatting inanely with some dizzy high-school girl, or even run into those college students whom he was friends with. He wanted the adrenaline rush and the pulsing throbbing music to get lost in, but he just wasn't feeling very... sociable.

The past few days had been highly stressful and emotionally draining. He'd been, literally, torn in half. He had moved out of his parents asement and into an apartment. He'd been promoted at work, which was of the good money wise, but which also meant more responsibility and crap to deal with at work. He had *finally* worked up the nerve to take the plunge into the socially taboo side of his sexuality. Years of repressing his homosexual urges had finally given way to exploring that side of his nature with *his twin*. And what's more, today, after years of abuse and neglect, he confronted his father in a violent and brutal fight.

His head was swimming and he felt as if he were drowning in his own thoughts. Broken down, it didn't seem like a lot, but all together equaled one, or rather *two*, messed up Alexander Harris's. He knew that he'd have to have a serious talk with his twin about everything that was happening in their lives, but he had to figure out *how* he felt about everything first. Right now, it was all a confused blur.

First of all, work and money. With the promotion, that would really help, but all of his savings had been eaten up with the first, last and deposit that the landlord required. Not only that, they also needed stuff. Dishes, pots and pans, cleaning stuff, just to name a few off of the top of his head. Not only that, they now had *two* bodies sharing what had been the stuff of only one guy. That meant, sooner or later, they would need extra towels and double the shampoo and food they went through. And clothes. If Xander and Giles didn't find a solution soon, Xander would have to get a job. It was as simple as that. Alex would have loved to have been able to support them both, but he couldn't. A second income would eventually become a necessity.

Secondly, there was the way he felt about everyone now. Right in the beginning, he hadn't really noticed too much of a change, but now he did. And it was getting more obvious everyday. Anya now seemed to be coming across as annoying whereas before, her bluntness and cluelessness had been cute and endearing. Tonight she had seemed coarse and cold.

And Riley came across differently now. He had always felt a strange sort of half admiration, half jealousy towards the ex-soldier. Today, however, he hadn't felt any sort of jealousy at all. Instead, he'd experienced an odd companionship with the older man. He sensed a shared ruthlessness buried deep within as well as a fierce need to protect those around him. What's more, Riley had been very understanding and sympathetic about the whole deal with his dad. Idly, he wondered when the big guy had come across abuse before. Was it simply from all the psychology the guy studied, or was there some dark part of his past that no one knew about?

As for Buffy and Willow, that was different too. He still loved both of them and he figured that he always would. Nothing could change that. He had always had this 'my sisters' thing going on with them both that was underscored by a tide of sexual undercurrents. He could feel the sisterly love just as strong as before, but all sexual tension had vanished. It wasn't that he didn't find them beautiful, because he did, but it wasn't a beauty that spoke to his cock so much as one that spoke to his heart. Even Anya didn't seem as sexually inviting as she had before.

His twin on the other hand, was *intensely* attractive to him. Alex suspected that a big part of his non-interest in the females around him was due to the fact that he had honestly enjoyed sex with a male much more than he ever had with *any* female. Having sex with *Xander* was just the icing on the cake. There wasn't anything about his other half that he *didn't* like, it was *himself* that bothered him.

Xander brought out the protective instinct in him, which was a good thing. But earlier today, he had discovered a darker facet to that equation. He could be brutal. Harshly brutal.

That was all well and good when patrolling or diverting an apocalypse, but it wouldn't be a good thing in any other situation. Getting upset and beating the snot out of random jerks wasn't of the good. It was bad. Very bad. And it might even lead him down the road into that realm of unthinking cruelty that his father had spent so many years of his life in.

In the end, the only thing that really mattered, however, was Xander. He was Alex's be all and end all. His alpha and omega. When he closed his eyes and thought of home, it was *his* softly smiling face that came to mind. When he thought of love and acceptance and hope, it was *his* warm and welcoming arms that held him tightly. Xander was the most important part of his life and he would gladly do whatever it took to keep him safe and happy.

That meant that Alex would have to find a way to burn all of this anger and dark rolling emotions out of himself before he went home tonight. He didn't want to take out his frustration and inner pain on his sensitive twin. Xander had enough to deal with as it was, a freaked out and semi-violent brother wouldn't help matters any. So... he needed to just... blow off massive amounts of steam.

And if this inner darkness built up again? He'd just have to find some way to channel it into some... useful and acceptable outlet. Find a way to burn it out before he was the one who ended up getting burnt.

*****